I Love Massachusetts – But These 5 Places Are a Hard ’No’ for Me

Despite the stereotype of the Massachusetts ‘Mass-holes’ and the thought that there’s not much to do outside of Boston, the state is actually a lovely place to visit and has the famous New England charm exuding from every small town. That being said, there are a few places that I never need to visit again (nor will I). 

Salem DURING October

Location: Salem

Known for: the Salem witch trails, spooky-vibes, Halloween celebrations

Why it’s Overhyped: The town itself is charming and has many fascinating museums dedicated to its history involving the witch trails. However, its close proximity to Boston and overall appeal to any and all people who enjoy any level of the macabre or history in general means that it's a very popular tourist destination at all times of the year (with a price tag to match). In October, however, the additional Halloween decorations and festivals means that this place is almost unbearable to even attempt to enter, with people shoved in shoulder to shoulder, things sold out long in advance, and potential scams popping up left and right. 

Nantucket (the island)

Location: the Atlantic Ocean

Known for: luxury, New England charm, a whaling history

Why it’s Overhyped: Nantucket will always be beautiful and charming, there is no doubt of this. However, its charm and beauty wears off quickly when confronted with the egregious pricing of this place. Part of this is due to the island’s wealthy clientele, but it’s also because the island's remote status requires nearly everything to be shipped in. The island's status also means that there can be very few things to do, and that the summers can be overwhelmingly crowded when boats come in.

The Cheers Bar

Location: Boston

Known for: This bar was the inspiration for the bar in the television show ‘Cheers’ and its exterior provided the outside shots for the show.

Why it’s Overhyped: The inside of the pub that provided the original inspiration was demolished and replaced with a ‘Cheers’ replica, making the whole experience feel somewhat insincere. The people are nice enough and the food and beers are of average quality for Massachusetts, but it’s clear that this is a place for tourists, not locals. Therefore, it’s certainly not a place ‘where everybody knows your name.’

Plymouth Rock

Location: Plymouth

Known for: being the landmark for where it’s believed that the Pilgrims landed

Why it’s Overhyped: To be clear, this is just a rock that has been gated off and covered from the elements. That’s it. It’s also not guaranteed to be the actual spot of where the Pilgrims landed, nor has any rock been identified in any accounts from back then. The rock was merely chosen as a symbol more than a hundred years after the actual landing.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Location: Springfield 

Known for: a hall of fame and museum dedicated to American basketball

Why it’s Overhyped: To be clear, the experience of going through the basketball hall of fame museum isn’t the problem (althoughTo be clear, your experience would involve traveling a long time to reach the Hall of Fame, visiting for maybe an hour (for an experience that is really only ‘okay those who are big fans of the sport have notoriously criticized the somewhat lenient voting process). The problem lies in the town it resides in — Springfield. This city is famous for being disliked even by people from Massachusetts, with poor urban development and very little to do around, high crime rates, and a long distance from other, more popular, areas. So to be clear, your experience would be traveling a long time to reach the hall of fame, visiting for maybe an hour (for an experience that is really only just ‘ok’), and then having nothing else to do nearby and a long way to travel back.

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